Juniper tree guidance

[KingCav]

Hi guys and gals,

I would like to apologize in advance for my ignorance and lack of knowledge (trying to brush up as much as possible in a short amount of time).

However I have had this juniper for less than a week now and the needles have started to turn a whitish color. After doing some initial research I have concluded that using well water with a high hardness level may have contributed to this at an exponential rate. Going forward I will use rainwater as suggested on this form, or would RODI water if that is better. With that being said what can I do to salvage this poor little guy at this point, if anything? Normally I hate taking on responsibility without having prior knowledge of a new hobby and have definitely jumped the gun while looking for a healthy safe outlet.

Thank you in advanced,
Kyle

 

[sorce]

Welcome to Crazy!

Is it kept indoors?

Seems dry.

Sorce

 

[Forsoothe!]

Humic acid 28 grams/gal in water once a week until you change you see progress, thereafter once a month (with rainwater).

 

[KingCav]

Welcome to Crazy!

Is it kept indoors?

Seems dry.

Sorce

Unfortunately this time of the year it will be kept indoors until warmer temperatures arrive here in New Jersey. The soil is still very moist, and at this point I was starting to worry about overwatering rather than underwatering.

 

[Tieball]

I only use well water. All of the time. If these Junipers have been kept inside they may not be healthy. Do these Junipers get any natural sunlight? Air movement? Cold air? Humidity?

When you say you’ve had them less than a week....do you mean recently bought from a store, where they sat indoors for an unknown time, and then stored indoors with you for about a week? Or. Are these cuttings you recently rooted?

 

[coltranem]

Unfortunately this time of the year it will be kept indoors until warmer temperatures arrive here in New Jersey. The soil is still very moist, and at this point I was starting to worry about overwatering rather than underwatering.

If given a proper time to acclimate to your climate it should be fine outdoors with some limited protection. No saying to do that now but if you can nurse it back to health don't bring it back inside next winter.

 

[KingCav]

I only use well water. All of the time. If these Junipers have been kept inside they may not be healthy. Do these Junipers get any natural sunlight? Air movement? Cold air? Humidity?

When you say you’ve had them less than a week....do you mean recently bought from a store, where they sat indoors for an unknown time, and then stored indoors with you for about a week? Or. Are these cuttings you recently rooted?

It does get daily sunlight, and the air flow is not amazing but it is not stagnant. Temp wise it is in cooler air in the morning/ mid day and then warmer in the evening when I am home. As for the humidity I am not positive sadly but I will be picking up an indoor HUD to track it now.

Unfortunately I purchased this one on-line and it shipped cross country from CA and into NJ right in the midst of a temp drop. I reached out to the seller for more info but sadly to no avail as of yet. I am far to new in the game to experiment with cuttings just yet

I have some Humric Acid on its way as suggested above as even if it is not needed right away I felt it would be better to have it ready then be scrabling like i am now.

 

[Tieball]

It does get daily sunlight, and the air flow is not amazing but it is not stagnant. Temp wise it is in cooler air in the morning/ mid day and then warmer in the evening when I am home. As for the humidity I am not positive sadly but I will be picking up an indoor HUD to track it now.

Unfortunately I purchased this one on-line and it shipped cross country from CA and into NJ right in the midst of a temp drop. I reached out to the seller for more info but sadly to no avail as of yet. I am far to new in the game to experiment with cuttings just yet

I have some Humric Acid on its way as suggested above as even if it is not needed right away I felt it would be better to have it ready then be scrabling like i am now.

I’ll add this comment from my experience.....Don’t go overboard buying stuff (additives, fertilizers, supplements, tools, pots...and more) at first. You have two small Junipers. They need to grow first. Being indoors....they may or may not thrive. Don’t get discouraged though. I’d just work to keep them alive during the winter and move them outside when spring arrives in NJ.....and then plan to leave them outside all year.

 

[Cypress187]

salvage this poor little guy at this point, if anything?

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Tieball]

Both look like cuttings recently taken. They may or may not have sufficient rooting....or even rooting at all. Just enjoy the journey and enthusiasm you have.

 

[Orion_metalhead]

There a few jerseyans here, myself included.

Juniper is tough to keep alive indoors. If you have a sheltered outdoor area, such as a screen room or mud room which remains cool but above freezing, id move it there first for a week or two, then put it outside in a shady spot out of the wind during a stretch of days forecasted to be above 35 degrees at night. If you have a bilco door from a basement, that works well as an acclimation method. Straight out now will kill it since it's not had a chance to build up dormancy.

My junipers are outside very happily.

If you want help, pm me. Maybe in spring we could meet. There are some decent clubs locally too. Dont know where you are in nj, nor would i ask you to divulge openly online, but if interested, im not far from new brunswick/woodbridge.

 

[leatherback]

The problems you are having stem from the move & placement indoors. I understand that your weather right now might be well into freezing and as such you cannot just transfer it outside -but as indicated in previous posts: DO not bring it indoors once you have moved it outside-

Humic acid will do absolutely nothing for your plant, certainly not right now. Your challenges are not nutrient / substrate related.

Junipers just hate being indoors and will eventually die.
Is it in a heated part of your house? Would be best to put it in an as cold location as you can find without subjecting it to frost. Light will be required unless temps hover around freezing, at which point it is less critical. Once frost breaks move it outside.

I water all my trees with bore water and I get lime accumulation. It is however only a challenge in a long dry summer, watering twice a day. The last 2 years was first for me to need to acidify a little.

 

[Vance Wood]

Humic acid 28 grams/gal in water once a week until you change you see progress, thereafter once a month (with rainwater).

Come on Bill, how likely is it that King Kav even knows what Humic acid is let alone where to get it? Rain Water????

 

[Forsoothe!]

Come on Bill, how likely is it that King Kav even knows what Humic acid is let alone where to get it? Rain Water????

Humic Acid comes from the hardware store or Home Depot, about $16 a quart. That's 946 grams, or 47 cents per application. If he doesn't sell drugs and doesn't already have a gram scale he can buy something that should be approximately that net weight and throw away the stuff and use the bottle as his dedicated measuring vessel. Rain water comes from the sky and I only referenced it because that was the gist of the conversation. His water is too high in calcium (I guess) and he said he would collect it. I did that a hundred years ago. I got a barrel from somewhere and rigged it to a downspout and collected rain water. The mosquitoes loved it, too, and it didn't take very long to abandon that little money saver. I could have bleached the water to keep the bugs out, -and made city water in a barrel. Maybe I'm missing something...

 

[leatherback]

Humic Acid comes from the hardware store or Home Depot, about $16 a quart. That's 946 grams, or 47 cents per application. If he doesn't sell drugs and doesn't already have a gram scale he can buy something that should be approximately that net weight and throw away the stuff and use the bottle as his dedicated measuring vessel. Rain water comes from the sky and I only referenced it because that was the gist of the conversation. His water is too high in calcium (I guess) and he said he would collect it. I did that a hundred years ago. I got a barrel from somewhere and rigged it to a downspout and collected rain water. The mosquitoes loved it, too, and it didn't take very long to abandon that little money saver. I could have bleached the water to keep the bugs out, -and made city water in a barrel. Maybe I'm missing something...

Could you please explain for me.. What difference would HA make at this point? THe problems are for a tree that has been in the OP care for a WEEK. You do not get enough scale buildup in soil in a week to cause problems. No matter how hard you tried.

 

[Orion_metalhead]

I think this is an inside problem, not a nutrition problem.

 

[Forsoothe!]

It is likely an inside problem, and the Humic acid is intended to overcome a coincident high pH problem.

 

[Vance Wood]

Humic Acid comes from the hardware store or Home Depot, about $16 a quart. That's 946 grams, or 47 cents per application. If he doesn't sell drugs and doesn't already have a gram scale he can buy something that should be approximately that net weight and throw away the stuff and use the bottle as his dedicated measuring vessel. Rain water comes from the sky and I only referenced it because that was the gist of the conversation. His water is too high in calcium (I guess) and he said he would collect it. I did that a hundred years ago. I got a barrel from somewhere and rigged it to a downspout and collected rain water. The mosquitoes loved it, too, and it didn't take very long to abandon that little money saver. I could have bleached the water to keep the bugs out, -and made city water in a barrel. Maybe I'm missing something...

Tap water works fine for most people's applications.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Has anyone ever tested the water after adding humic acid? It did nothing to my pH value. If anything, it's a buffering substance at most: all the groups end in -COOH, meaning they can both probably release H+ but also OH- depending on the pH of your solution.

 

[Forsoothe!]

I think the humic acid is intended to supplement the level of humus in soil and mimic adding compost to the mix and aid the microbe population, and only incidentally lower pH, if only by adding something that is not high pH. If used every week it might make some difference, but I wouldn't do that because I use good, rich soil in the first place and don't want to overdo anything as though I was enriching an inorganic soil mix. I use HA and Fulvex and kelp meal in combination, monthly, to encourage back-budding/non-apical growth. This is a new program for me, so I don't know if it actually works. Sounds good!

If the pH of the water that you are adding the HA to is very high, it might neutralize the HA or FA.